‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Defends England’s Aggressive Mindset.

After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone.

“It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well makes it even better.”

The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out for 152.

“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.”

“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and repeat the performance.”

“I feel like if you put the ball in the right areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.”

Justifying the Strategy

There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings about putting pressure on their opponents, playing an positive style of cricket and so on, something England did here by just about crawling past three figures at a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a very positive brand of cricket. We try and force the issue and take it back to them.”

Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were bowled out in less than 30 overs. “There wasn’t really a big chat at all. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so the next batter in thinks it’s the appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot.

“I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted really well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in obviously a small first innings total.”

Claiming a Prized Scalp

Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.

“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I watched him as a kid, and obviously getting him out is a huge thrill. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman that I want to try and get out. His reputation doesn't matter. My primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s a great feeling.”

A View from the Other End

There was a more ominous take at close of play from Michael Neser, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the Melbourne pitch.

“We know it can move real fast on day one and day two, then when the wicket compacts and loses moisture it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. It could be a different proposition in the second innings.”

Australia will begin day two with 10 wickets in hand and their aggressive left-hander at the crease, alongside surely one of the most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.